Hayward, Wisconsin & Chequamegon Bay Fishing Report 7-20-15

Good friends Greg and Geralyn Miller from The Hunt  were back with us on Friday for their annual trip to celebrate the Walleye Queen’s birthday.  As expected, Geralyn didn’t disappoint…  We fished the Hayward area and had a very good morning with walleyes up to 19″, largemouth up to 18″, and smallmouth up to 17″.  Slip bobbers and leeches produced the bass, but crawler harnesses pulled along deep weeds in 15′ – 18′ of water produced the walleyes with water temps in the mid 70’s.  It’s getting to be that time of year when the most productive walleye bite will turn to crawlers, and it’s a good idea to have some ready to go if other presentations aren’t putting fish in the net.  We had a perfect morning with overcast skies and light west winds.  With a good morning behind us and a few fillets in the box we went to our favorite place for lunch and had Italian Subs at Angler’s Haven.  If you haven’t had this sandwich your missing out…  Man those things are good!!!  Our bellies were full, and we headed back out to find a tough bite in the afternoon.  The sun popped out, and the wind laid flat.  Where have we seen this before???  A few pike up to 25″ and a 16″ smallmouth hit the net before we pulled the pin around mid afternoon.  The Queen had done it again though, and I wasn’t surprised.  She can catch them anywhere, anytime…  Happy birthday Geralyn, and thanks for another great day.  I can’t wait till next year!  Tune in to The Outdoor Channel on Thursday nights at 8:30 ET to watch the crew from The Hunt chase big deer all around the United States.  It’s a great show with some great people in front of the camera as well as behind the scenes.  See you soon Millers!!!

I took some time off on Saturday and Sunday to spend with my family.  LeeAnn and I went to the Kenny Chesney / Jason Aldeen concert at Target field in the Twin Cities.  What a show!!!  I highly recommend it if it’s in your area, and we had a blast.  Felt kinda strange not being in the boat for two days, but it was sure good to spend some time with my girls!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Johnson from Hudson, WI and his brother Mike from Cameron, WI joined me on Monday to fish Chequamegon Bay.  We had extremely windy conditions with NW winds up to 25 mph making things a little difficult.  We were able to squeeze a morning in however and caught several very nice fish up to 20″ in 10′ – 15′ of water on minnows with steady action throughout the morning.  It’s been a rough couple of days on the bay, and water temps are all over the place.  I saw everything from 45 (yes, I said 45…) to 70 degrees, and fish have scattered from some spots.  We even caught a 20″ splake that had no business being were it was a this time of year.  With limited spots available to fish in rough conditions we decided to head inland for the afternoon, and it was a good decision.  We found active smallmouth in 5′ – 15′ of water while working breaklines with weeds and rocks.  Water temps were in the mid 70’s, and we used  plastics, minnows, and leeches to catch fish up to 20″.  A nice 20″ walleye landed by Bill late in the afternoon day put a nice bow on a really fun day with a couple of good guys.  What an adventure…  Smallies and splake on Chequamegon Bay.  Smallies and walleye inland.  Not how I drew it up, but we’ll take it!!!  Thanks to The Brothers Johnson for a great time and a great day!!!